SPORTS BRIEFS

Agencies

ICE HOCKEY

NHL, union to resume talks

The National Hockey League (NHL) and the union representing its players will resume labor talks tomorrow for the first time since a lockout began 10 days ago, but the session is expected to focus only on non-core economic issues. Topics to be discussed at the New York meeting could include pensions, schedule, medical, travel and the grievance procedure, the NHL Players’ Association said on Tuesday. The talks represent the first formal discussions between the two sides since the NHL locked out its players when the previous labor deal expired, with the two sides at odds over how to divide a US$3.3 billion revenue pie. The lockout, which is the NHL’s fourth work stoppage in 20 years, has already forced the league to cancel the first week of pre-season games that were supposed to begin last weekend. With no end in sight to the dispute, a number of big-name NHL players have already found work in European leagues rather than sit idly waiting for a deal to be reached.

BOXING

Defamation case settled

Floyd Mayweather Jr and Manny Pacquiao have reached a confidential settlement in their federal defamation case in Las Vegas. It was not clear if the settlement means Mayweather and Pacquiao would meet in the ring. Malcolm LaVergne, a lawyer who represents Mayweather’s father in the case, said on Tuesday that documents have been signed and will be filed at the US District Court in Las Vegas. He said the terms are strictly confidential. Pacquiao filed the lawsuit in December 2009. He alleges Mayweather defamed him by suggesting he used performance-enhancing substances. Pacquiao denied the claim and sought unspecified damages.

SOCCER

Blokhin to coach Dynamo

Dynamo Kiev signed Ukraine national team coach Oleg Blokhin to lead the club for the next four years on Tuesday. Blokhin replaces Yuri Semin, the Russian who was fired on Monday following four losses in Dynamo’s past five games. Dynamo were beaten 4-1 by Paris Saint-Germain in their UEFA Champions League opener and lost by the same score to main rivals Shakhtar Donetsk in the Ukraine Cup. Dynamo Kiev president Ihor Surkis said that “after two consecutive defeats with a big score, there was no other choice.” Blokhin, a Dynamo great who was voted Europe’s best player in 1975, will continue to lead Ukraine in their World Cup qualifiers against Moldova and Montenegro next month, before switching fully to club coaching. “I’m ready to work 24/7 to reach this goal,” Blokhin said. “The team needs to spread its wings. We cannot lose 4-1 all the time. It’s too much for Dynamo Kiev.”

SOCCER

Woman to coach Viktorija

Former Croatia Miss Sport finalist and soccer player Tihana Nemcic became the first woman to be appointed coach of a men’s club on Tuesday, local media reported. The 24-year-old Nemcic will coach Croatian fifth-division side NK Viktorija Vojakovac. “I am the head coach, and I have full liberty to create and plan the team’s tactics,” she told daily 24 Sata. “The guys know the game, but there is a lot more to do,” added Nemcic, who played for 10 years for Dinamo Zagreb’s women’s team and the national squad. Nemcic said that there was no reason why eyebrows should be raised about her getting the job. “If a woman and a man have the same professional qualifications for a coaching job, I see no reason why I should not get into male football,” she said.